Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to instruments, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods of tool exchange.
Background
Many related art technologies utilize instruments or tools to perform various functions. It is often desired to utilize a single apparatus to operate many different instruments or tools. As such, related art systems for holding and exchanging various instruments or tools have been developed.
For example, in a surgical application in the related art, in order for a surgeon to perform a surgical procedure, current tools require the repeated entry and exit of the tool into and out of the body during the surgery when the tool needs to be changed to perform a different action. Among other things, this approach may introduce additional risk to the patient, due to increased risk of infection due to the repeated entry into the patient's body. Also, the risk that one of the numerous tools that may be used during a surgery can be left inside the body of the patient after the conclusion of the surgery is magnified when multiple tools are brought into and taken out of the body of the patient during the procedure. In addition, such related art approaches may result in significant loss of time and/or resources during or when preparing for surgery, as well as in other contexts.
Thus, whether in a surgical application or in any other application, improvements in tool exchange are desired.